Haiti launches $2.2B, 10-year plan to eradicate cholera

Mar 1 2013

"The Haitian government's $2.2 billion, 10-year plan to eradicate cholera was launched on Wednesday against the backdrop of the U.N.'s rejection of a legal claim from more than 5,000 victims" that sought compensation for the cholera epidemic, which "has killed more than 8,000 people and infected nearly 648,000" and is thought to have been started by a U.N. peacekeeping mission, the Guardian reports. "The first two years of the plan call for an investment of almost $500 million," the newspaper notes, adding, "Over 10 years, the aim is to increase access to potable water from 69 percent of the population to 85 percent; to toilets and latrines from 27 percent to 90 percent, and to health care from 54 percent to 80 percent -- while strengthening education, infrastructure and government capacity."

"However, the plan is being launched amid waning commitments from international donors, in a country with fragile government capacity, and in the midst of a crisis," the Guardian continues and includes comments from "Daniele Lantagne, a U.S. cholera expert specializing in emergency water and sanitation interventions in developing countries"; Nigel Fisher, head of the U.N. mission in Haiti; and Ralph Ternier, director of community care and support at Partners in Health (Doucet, 2/28).